Choose Quality Not Quantity For Thanksgiving

This is the time of year often associated with overeating. It’s a time when people get together with families and a time for you to choose quality not quantity for Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season. Making sure that you bring the healthy snacks to the family feast to keep your appetite under check can help you stick with the program, plus help you when portion control becomes important. You’ll only want a sliver of the delicious pies at the end of the meal or will be able to choose the one that is healthiest, satisfying and lower in calories. Consider a lattice crust rhubarb or pumpkin with no top crust over a rich pecan pie.

Eat a nutritious breakfast in the morning.

You can’t control what everyone brings or the hostess serves for Thanksgiving, but you can control what you eat before you go to dinner. Fill up before you go with a nutritious breakfast. People often make the mistake of foregoing a breakfast to save calories when they know they’ll be feasting that day, but it’s the worse thing you can do. A breakfast that keeps you filled will with fiber and protein can help keep you satisfied for a longer time and make it easier to avoid those high calorie snacks before dinner or gorging yourself at the feast.

Fill you plate with nutritious foods and protein, but go light on ones with sauces.

The turkey is the center of attention at Thanksgiving. After all, don’t people often call it Turkey Day? Choose white turkey meat, plenty of veggies…sans those with sauce, lots of fresh leafy veggies and some mashed potatoes. If you’re making the potatoes, use Greek yogurt to make them or bring it along to put on the top, avoiding gravy entirely. Volunteer to make a low calorie gravy. You’ll find plenty of recipes on the internet that cut out much of the fat, but still taste fantastic. Snack away on fresh veggies and dip made with low calorie yogurt.

Always remember portion control.

Some foods can be eaten with joy and as often and as much as you want. Those are the fresh vegetables, greens and cooked vegetables without a sauce. Others need to be approached more cautiously, but still aren’t all that bad for you. Consider the turkey as your second line of defense against fat. Finally, there are those foods that you know are ones that should only be sampled, nibbled and slivered in portions. Yeah, they’re the gravies, macaroni and cheese, pastries and pies. Eating a spoonful of mac n’ cheese can curb your appetite for it, just as a sliver of pie does. You’ll have the pleasure of the food without consuming hundreds of calories.

Eat slowly. The slower you eat, the less people will notice your eating habits. There’s always someone in the group that says, “come on, you can eat some more.” If a broth based soup is part of the menu, it’s a good option.

Don’t pass up those foods you only get once a year at holiday time. Instead, just take a small portion. You’ll be satisfied if you savor each small bite.